The BioMedical Admissions Test is an exam that students of some veterinary, dental, and medical schools are required to take as a part of their admission process. Considering that these people have high academic achievements and excellent grades, universities use this test to understand their skills and see whether they are suitable for chosen courses.
If you are preparing to take this test and continue your education, you probably already know some basic information. We will discuss these in the following article, but we will also give you some tips on how to master all three sections of the exam since each one of them requires a different set of skills.
What is the format of the test?
Firstly, let us explain the format of the exam. As already mentioned, it includes three sections, and you have two hours to complete all of them. It is a traditional exam, meaning that it consists of questions you have to answer.
The first section consists of 35 short-answer and multiple-choice questions. These are pretty generic, meaning that they test your knowledge in areas such as understanding arguments, problem-solving, and data analysis and interface. Each answer is worth one mark, and there are no negative ones. You have 60 minutes to complete this section, and our advice is to divide the time between questions. Some of them are fairly easy, and you will have no trouble answering them, but at the same time, you shouldn’t waste too much time on the difficult ones. Finally, since wrong ones aren’t penalized, make sure to answer every single question.
Then, the second section tests the scientific knowledge you should have acquired during your previous education. There are 27 questions, and you have 30 minutes to complete them.
Finally, the third section includes three essay topics. You have to choose one, and write the essay. Two examiners will grade this section, and they will take into consideration the reason why you have chosen a certain topic, as well as your ability to clearly and concisely answer it and convey your ideas and attitudes. In addition, your fluency in English will also be marked.
How to prepare for the exam?
Now, we have reached the most important matter – How to score highly? Yes, this exam tests the knowledge you should already possess, but the truth is that it is created to be challenging even for the best and brightest students.
BMAT courses
If you know that you may not be able to study for this test alone, you should start looking for a BMAT online course. You probably know this by now, but BMAT preparation requires you to invest a lot of time and effort. Yes, you probably already know a lot, but still, you have to go over everything. It may be easier for you to work with some else, which is why a BMAT course may be perfect for you. If you want to learn more detail about it, like the tutorials and books you will get, explore the MedicMind website.
Past papers
Taking into consideration that this is a typical pen and paper test, you don’t have to stress too much about it. The first step you should take is to gather past papers and start analyzing them. You can try to answer all of the questions, but you should try not to get too frustrated about the ones you don’t know. Instead, use these papers to understand what your weakness are and which topics and areas deserve your full attention.
On the other hand, you can also use these upon completing the course or going over all the books. It is a great way to assess your current skills and understand whether you need to invest more work and effort.
Eliminate wrong answers
As already mentioned, section one consists of multiple-choice questions, meaning that you can use a certain strategy when going over them. Naturally, some of these will be pretty easy for you, and you will be able to answer them immediately. However, there will be those that may force you to think twice about the correct answer. When it comes to these, the first thing you should do is eliminate the options that you know for certain are wrong. Then, analyze the question thoroughly, but looking for small keywords that can change the meaning of the entire sentence. The most common one of these is “not,” and when students don’t read the instructions carefully, they tend to oversee it. This is the oldest trick in the book so make sure not to fall for it.
Inspect Assumed Subject Knowledge guide
When it comes to the second section of the exam, the first thing you have to do is go over this guide and investigate what kind of mathematical and scientific knowledge you must possess. You have covered most of these topics in schools, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go over them once again to refresh your memory and fill any gaps you may have
Practice, practice, practice
Furthermore, when it comes to this section, you will have to use your problem-solving skills, meaning that you have to master them. These questions will require you to demonstrate step-by-step calculations. Obviously, you need to be able to do these correctly. Nevertheless, keep in mind that these can be time-consuming. Due to this reason, you should practice as much as possible to boost your speed. It may be a good idea to track the time you need to complete this part of the test.
Write clear arguments
Finally, there is the last part of the exam, and this can appear to be the biggest challenge of all. No, you don’t have to be a great writer to get a high score. Instead, you should focus on arguments and find the best way to present them. We have already explained how this part is marked, so not only do you have to choose the right topic, but it is vital to have strong arguments you can support. You can build these by analyzing previous essay topics with someone. Try to come up with arguments for both sides. Then, you have to work on making sure to develop and illustrate them so that the other person cannot refute them.
